Wind farms compete for power generation

Can a wind farm increase energy output?

Now, engineers at MIT and elsewhere have found that, with no need for any new investment in equipment, the energy output of such wind farm installations can be increased by modeling the wind flow of the entire collection of turbines and optimizing the control of individual units accordingly.

How much energy does a wind farm produce?

Globally, wind energy capacity surpasses 743 gigawatts, which is more than is available from grid-connected solar energy and about half as much as hydropower can provide. Nearly three-quarters of that 651 gigawatts comes from wind farms in five countries: China, the U.S., Germany, India, and Spain.

Should wind farms have fewer turbines?

Needing fewer turbines per wind farm might allow power plant developers more flexibility when placing them on the land, potentially creating greater opportunity to avoid culturally and environmentally sensitive areas.

How can MIT improve wind farms' energy output?

MIT engineers have developed a method to increase wind farms’ energy output. Whereas individual turbines are typically controlled separately, the new approach models the wind flow of the entire collection of turbines and optimizes the control of individual units.

What is a land based wind farm?

While land-based wind farms may be remote, most are easy to access and connect to existing power grids. Smaller turbines, often used in distributed systems that generate power for local use rather than for sale, average about 100 feet tall and produce between 5 and 100 kilowatts.

Are offshore wind turbines a good idea?

While tall offshore turbines lack some of the advantages of land-based wind farms, use of them is burgeoning because they can capture the energy of powerful, reliable winds high in the air near coastlines, where most of the largest cities in the world are located. What are some potential future wind technologies other than turbines?